“I can’t believe we get to live here,” Letty said, gesturing toward the patio. “I didn’t even know we had a space like this.”

“We’ve got three courtyard units, but this is by far the nicest. And that’s because of Harry. He grew a lot of these plants from seed in his greenhouse back home, and the rest he bought at a nursery down here. Every year he added something new.” Ava pointed to a small concrete birdbath in the shape of a seahorse in the right corner of the garden. “He just bought that birdbath last month.”

“I’ve never had a garden before,” Letty said. “Unless you count a Chia Pet. I don’t know how to take care of any of this. What if I kill it all?”

“You won’t.” Ava handed her two sheets of paper. “Harry left you detailed instructions. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but it was his idea to move you over here. He knew some of the others would be lining up to get this unit, and he thought you and Maya should have it. He didn’t say as much, but I think this is his way of thanking you for saving his life.”

“I didn’t save his life,” Letty protested. “Joe’s the one who got the ambulance here, and the doctors at the hospital did the rest. All I did was give him some aspirin.”

Ava arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying you don’t want this place after all?”

“No! I mean, yes, I want it, but I don’t exactly deserve it. That’s all I’m saying. And thank you. Thanks so much, Ava.”

“You’re welcome. Just don’t kill the lemon tree, okay? I count on those for my iced tea.”

Letty uploaded the last of the photos of the efficiency unit onto the Murmuring Surf’s website and allowed herself a tiny, self-congratulatory pat on the back. Even she had to admit the efficiency had undergone an amazing transformation. She’d convinced Ava to replace the nasty old shag carpet with a boring but unobjectionable indoor-outdoor carpet that almost looked like seagrass. With Ava’s permission she’d painted the battered dresser and the mismatched nightstands with a homemade chalk paint she’d created with a quart of flat turquoise enamel mixed with non-sanding grout mix from the hardware store.

Letty had “borrowed” from Maya’s stash of seashells and hot-glued them in a mosaic pattern around the frame of the dresser mirror.

Then she’d raided the motel’s linen supply and found four white cotton chenille bedspreads, and used clip-on curtain rings to transform three of them into drapes, while the fourth bedspread was actually used for its intended purpose.